VOLUME FIVE, THE DAY WE LEARN TO FLY

VOLUME FIVE
THE DAY WE LEARN TO FLY

Mountain Fever Records
MFR140318

With several recordings under their belt, Volume Five takes their turn at an all-gospel recording. Such recordings can be tricky for bands. Often a band will let the material dictate their sound. They’ll sound one way as a secular group and roundly different with gospel material. Not so with Volume Five. On their previous secular recordings, they’ve offered music that sways track to track from traditional to contemporary, from edgy to lyrical, all enveloped in their own unique sound, and so, too, on this 12-song gospel CD.

The opener, “The Day We Learn To Fly,” perhaps best captures that sound, being a medium tempo song, slightly modal, lightly bouncing, and underscored with the metallic pluck of resonator guitar. That’s the sound I most think of with this band. But, as I say, they often switch gears. They follow with the light, positive feel of fiddler Glenn Harrell’s “Miracle Today” and then with their cover of Trey Ward’s “Color Between The Lines.” The latter offers the concept of a bible coloring book as a metaphor for joy and for staying on the straight and narrow. They then shift again to the a cappella of “Nothing But The Water” and then to a funky version of the only traditional song here, “Until I Found The Lord.”

So it goes through the rest of the recording. There’s a wonderful tribute to parents (“Thanks Again”) and a couple of equally wonderful classic uptempo gospel-style tunes from guitarist Jeff Partin—“What Could I Do” and “When We Are Called To Meet Him.” The highlight track would be the emotional “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore” which leads to the barnburner “Get Down And Pray,” bringing to a close a strong recording that lets you know who is presenting the message without getting in the way of the message. (Mountain Fever Records, 1177 Alum Ridge Rd., Willis, VA 24380, www.mountainfever.com.)BW